


Do Cherubs Dream Of, Like, Any Sheep At All?

by CitriFructum113



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Earth C (Homestuck), F/F, Insomnia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:00:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23782795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CitriFructum113/pseuds/CitriFructum113
Summary: Calliope can’t sleep.
Relationships: Calliope/Roxy Lalonde
Kudos: 11





	Do Cherubs Dream Of, Like, Any Sheep At All?

Footsteps, the squeal of hinges, the clatter of crockery, these sounds reach in clumsily past the thin veil of unconsciousness, popping Roxy’s personal little elemental bubble of void. She emerges from one field of darkness into another as she lays awake listening to the distant sounds emanating from the kitchen, the source of which she assumes to be Calliope. She clumsily reaches out to grab her phone, knocking the empty Pringles can that’d been sitting on her bedside table for the since they moved in a few days ago to the floor in the process. The light of the screen cuts through the darkness like a knife as she checks the time, 12:11, just past midnight. 

It’s been like this for the past few nights, every night without fail since they’d moved in, Callie has been up in the kitchen at a ridiculous time chowing down on some piece of confectionery or other. When questioned about it she hadn’t really had any sort of response beyond a noncommittal shrug and some vague mumbling about not being able to sleep. Roxy's starting to get worried, it’s been less than a week from their perspective since they arrived on Earth C and already Calliope, who’d seemed so excited to spend time around people other than her asshole brother, is starting to withdraw. Maybe she’s just imagining things or being paranoid or whatever, but this just doesn’t seem right.

Roxy: hey callie u ok?

She waits in silence for a few moments before the response comes, the voice issuing it somewhat shaky.

Calliope: yes! i’m fine.

Her tone of voice does nothing to dispel Roxy’s concern. She sits up and swings her feet out of bed, the carpet is soft under her bare feet, almost too soft if that’s even possible. Ok, might as well deal with this now if it’s going to have to be something that needs to be dealt with, her friends’ disastrous clusterfuck of a love triangle during their session had taught Roxy it was never a good idea to leave things like this to sit and fester and go all rotten. Nevertheless she feels a slight tug of anxiety as she leaves her room and heads off down the corridor. 

——————————————————————————————————

Roxy hesitates for a moment, looking down at where the light sleeps under the door, despite what she’s learnt she still feels uneasy doing this, is it her place? Maybe this sort of thing is normal for her, or for like, cherubs in general maybe? For a moment she rocks back on her heels in the darkness, considering if she should just return to bed and leave Calliope be, but no, different species or not she’s clearly upset, and Roxy can’t just leave her to deal with this alone, if something’s wrong she’s going to get to the bottom of it. She places her hand on the door handle and slowly eases the door open, poking her head out into the crack of light.

Roxy: yo callie, mind if sit with u?

The cherub starts at this sudden intrusion, she’s sitting on the floor in the corner, leaning on a cabinet and chowing down on a comically overstacked plate of gummy worms.

Calliope: Um, ah, no, yoU don’t have to, i mean yoU can if yoU want. bUt yoU don’t have to.  
Roxy: of course i want to, id never pass up a opportunity ta spend sum time with my number one pal

Roxy cautiously enters the room and sits down opposite Calliope, not wanting to alarm her with any unnecessary closeness. She settles in then looks up at the cherub beaming, Calliope doesn’t meet her gaze, she’s become very focused on the contents of her plate.

Roxy: wow thats a fuck tonna liddle wiggly bois ya gott there calz.  
Roxy: calz? cal-z? cal-zer?  
Roxy: calzone  
Roxy: no that’s stupid lmao  
Roxy: but uh, anyway, lotsa worms.  
Calliope: yes.

God that was so awkward Roxy almost feels like yeeting herself out the window in a fit of embarrassment.

Roxy: so uh, ya been doing fine?  
Roxy: cuz ive noticed ya haven’t been doing much sleeping or whatever  
Calliope: yes roxy, i’m fine, there’s no need to worry aboUt me.  
Roxy: rly? cus, like, not sleeping snot good.  
Roxy: unless this is like some cherub thing  
Roxy: do cherubs sleep?

There’s no response to this at first, Roxy sits there on the hard linoleum waiting for what seems like an eternity before Callie speaks, her voice somewhat nervous at the prospect of sharing personal information 

Calliope: Um, yes, i think so, before predomination at least.  
Calliope: bUt i never really got to.  
Calliope: what with being awake on prospit for most of my life. trying to sleep now withoUt that is very pecUliar and i’m not certain i can manage it i’m afraid.  
Calliope: bUt i feel fine roxy dear, there’s really no reason to worry aboUt me, i’m sUre i can get by.  
Roxy: you sure you sure, because you’ve been looking pretty tired  
Roxy: u got like these little bags under your big pretty eyes

Calliope reaches up from her worms instinctively to rub under her large glassy eyes, an embarrassed expression crossing her face. Shit, probably shouldn’t have mentioned her appearance, she’s like, super self-conscious about that. After a few more moments of silence the cherub lowers her hands and admits defeat.

Calliope: yes ok, i am feeling pretty worn oUt.  
Calliope: i don’t know why thoUgh, it’s not like when i slept before my body woUld jUst sit aroUnd and recharge like a hUmans woUld.  
Calliope: caliborn woUld be Using it. i always thoUght oUr bodies were meant to draw on some esoteric cosmic power, bUt that doesn’t appear to be the case.  
Roxy: mayb you should try it  
Calliope: i have been trying it and it hasn’t been working!  
Roxy: o right, sry.  
Roxy: but like, ive done plenty of sleeping in my time  
Roxy: i could give ya some hot tips if ya want.

Callie stops for a moment to consider the offer before responding hesitantly.

Calliope: Um, ok then, if that woUld be ok with yoU.  
Roxy: yeah totes, i’ll always be down to help you with whatevs whenevs.

So they go, Callie lies down in her thus far unused bed and tries to sleep to no avail. Roxy tries everything she can think of short of heavy drinking because no way Jose is she taking Callie down that rabbit hole. But nothing seems to work, she’s on the verge of giving up when the cherubs voice speaks out softly from the gloom of the darkened room.

Calliope: roxy?  
Roxy: yes?  
Calliope: coUld we Um…

The sentence trials off and there’s a long moment of silence as Roxy waits for her to continue the thought.

Calliope: coUld we UUUUUUUUUUUh…  
Calliope: coUld we maybe…  
Calliope: cUddle? please.  
Roxy: yeah uh, totally  
Calliope: i mean not if yoU don’t want to.  
Calliope: I’ve jUst been feeling sort of alone.  
Calliope: and i sUppose i want some contact with another person.  
Roxy: no uh, no that’s totally fine, i’m cool with that.

And so she is, she hugs her skull girl gf and they drift asleep in one another’s arms and it’s lovely.

**Author's Note:**

> This is so awful sorry for cursing the earth with my terrible lazy writing please forgive me. I tried to like be fancy and do coloured text and different fonts but I couldn’t figure out how to make that work sorry, this is my first time writing any homestuck stuff but I hope I’ll improve and figure out how to not suck in the future.


End file.
